A Beginner's Guide to Hoffman

I've seen a lot of posts online of people asking for advice on Hoffman; what to buy for him, what he works well with, etc etc. Hoffman is my favourite and personal best Master, so I thought I'd spend a little time talking about what models he works well with, what Strategies and Schemes he does well with, and a few tips and tricks I've picked up. Hopefully this helps some people out, let's get into it!

Building out of the Crew Box

Hoffman has a solid starting box, but he also has a TON of options when it comes to what models to add to it. Hoffman has a very diverse hiring pool between the Guild models and Arcanist M&SU constructs he can hire through his Arcanist Assets upgrade, so deciding what to get next can be difficult. I personally recommend getting a second Watcher & a Peacekeeper before you go too far down the rabbit hole; having a pair of Watchers to run marker based schemes is awesome, and the Peacekeeper is a solid choice of beatsticky tank. These models also run well with other Guild crews, which is a bonus. Play a couple of games with just these models to get an idea for how Hoffman works before you start looking into other models, as it will make deciding what you want to buy next a lot easier. When you start feeling comfortable with the models you have & start looking to add more, my next recommendation is to pick up the Ramos crew box. Howard Langston, Joss, & Steam Arachnid Swarms are all amazing with Hoffman (for reasons we'll break down later), and the plastic sculpts are gorgeous. If you don't want to grab a crew box whose Master and Totem you can't use, then find yourself 2 or 3 Soulstone Miners and a Ryle. The Rail Golem is also a good choice, and a lot of players recommend picking up Metal Gamin as well. You can also look at Guild Wardens, as they're very solid for their price. I'd suggest a buying order that goes roughly like this:

Hoffman Box -> 2nd Watcher & a Peacekeeper -> min 2 Soulstone Miners -> Ramos Box -> Metal Gamin & Rail Golem -> Ryle -> Wardens/Mobile Toolkit

This is just a skeleton idea, you can swap model order around as you like and add whatever you like to it. I've probably missed a few models, but getting all of this together and getting comfortable with it on the table top should keep you busy for a while.

A Tool for Every Job

I tend to mentally divide Hoffman's hiring pool into 3 seperate categories: Scheme Runners, Tanks/Beatsticks, & Support Pieces. We're going to go into each of these categories seperately and break down what models go into each and why they're there. There are several models that are going to fall into different categories, but that's okay.

Scheme Runners

With Hoffman your main Scheme Runners are going to be Watchers and Soulstone Miners. Soulstone Miners are among the best Scheme Runners in the game due to their ability to start the game buried and unbury anywhere on the board that's not within 6 inches of an enemy model or the enemy deployment zone. A pair of Soulstone Miners can almost guarantee you Outflank on Corner/Flank Deployment, and can help accomplish any marker based scheme as well (such as Breakthrough, Protect Territory, Plant Evidence, etc). The only drawback to Soulstone Miners is they won't benefit much from Hoffman's buffing abilities (such as his Modification Upgrades and crew healing) just because they'll tend to run further away from the main body of your crew so they can get markers down in more remote locations. Watchers are solid scheme runners for any Guild master, but given Hoffman's Modification Upgrades become even more effective. If you run 2 Watchers (which if you're playing Hoffman chances are you should be) you'll want to give one Watcher the Hydraulics upgrade & the other Programmed Directive. By making one Nimble and giving the other cheaper Interact Actions a pair of Watchers can pump out up to 4 scheme markers a turn (hello A Line In The Sand) for as long as they're on the board and unengaged. Hunters are going to get a mention here as well because their Prowl ability and Wk 5 can make them decent scheme runners in a pinch. The nice thing about Hoffman's scheme runners is that they're decently survivable due to their Armour +1 and mobility, but make sure you keep your Miners and Watchers away from enemy models so they can do their thing unmolested. 

Tanks/Beatsticks 

If there's one thing Hoffman does and does well is he makes models that are already strong even more powerful. Models that tank damage well tend to deal damage just as well, and Hoffman has a couple ways of upping both of those tendencies. The primary models in this category are the Peacekeeper, Howard Langston, Ryle, the Rail Golem, Steam Arachnid Swarms, & Joss. All of these models will work well with the Patchwork Plating upgrade (an Armour +3 Peacekeeper is ridiculous), and the Peacekeeper & Ryle benefit highly from the Targeting Systems upgrade (an extra Ram for Critical Strike is always nice, and being able to auto-trigger Ryle's Raking Fire is just magical). Hydraulics is another solid modification so long as you haven't given it to one of your scheme runners already. Steam Arachnid Swarms get included in this category because once you've Power Looped in a model like Howard Langston or the Guardian to make them Ml 7 their Overwhelm trigger can become surprisingly powerful, especially when you factor in their Strength in Numbers ability. This makes them sneaky and unexpected beatsticks, and they're nice for removing enemy scheme markers with their Decouring Swarm (0) action. Due to their high cost you often won't be running more than 1 or 2 of these models in your crew, so make sure you give some consideration as to what the schemes and strategies are before you hire one. If you're playing something like Turf War or Reckoning you'll want to be using Hoffman's heals and Machine Puppets to keep them alive and crammed down your opponents' throats. Use your Machine Puppets to get them in position without using any of their AP (shoot for the double Ram trigger if possible to make them Fast before they activate), this way they can focus on using their AP to either clear models out of your way or score you VP. By playing agressively with your Tanks/Beatsticks you can pull your opponent's attention off of your scheme runners, but be careful about which crews you're aggressive against. Anything that can ignore your Armour or prevent your heals will be very problematic and should be handled carefully (ex: the Viks or Von Schill in combat).

Support Pieces

Your support pieces include the Mechanical Attendant, Metal Gamin, the Guardian, the Mobile Toolkit, Wardens, and Hunters. These pieces can be used as backup scheme runners, or help buff your tanks/beatsticks. Hunters are great for pulling enemy models out of position & can do a decent amount of damage on their own, which makes them ideal for either clearing out enemy Minions/scheme runners or softening up bigger targets for your tank/beatstick to finish off later. The Mechanical Attendant offers condition removal for Hoffman, and his Null Field ability is great against Nephilim crews (Black Blood) or crews that rely on Blasts (like Sonnia or Rasputina). The Mobile Toolkit is useful for  buffing your models by passing out Armour +1, or making them more dangerous by giving them Plus flips to Ml actions or a Plus flip to damage. A lot of players like bringing along at least 1 Metal Gamin because when Power Looped in Hoffman can get up to Ca 10, which makes most of his Tactical Actions almost automatically go off, and their Protection of Metal can be nice as well. Wardens work well as back up scheme runners due to their survivability, and are great at softening up enemy models. The Guardian is a popular choice because of his high Df & Ml stats, which when Power Looped in help buff your other models significantly (for example: a Df 6, Ml 7 Rail Golem will make your opponent cry, especially when you make it Nimble through Hydraulics). Depending on which models you choose you're best off running your Support Pieces at mid-range; some of them can do well in melee and will survive contact with the enemy (Wardens/Hunters/the Guardian), and the others you'll want to keep away from enemy models so you can use their benificial abilities to buff your crew and help run schemes (Metal Gamin/Mechanical Attendant/Mobile Toolkit).

Upgrades

The 2 upgrades you should never leave home without are Field Mechanic and Arcanist Assets. Arcanist Assets lets you hire Arcanist M&SU constructs out of faction and gives you the brilliant Frantic Repairs (0) action. Even if you don't plan on bringing any Arcanist constructs I recommend bringing this upgrade because it's cheap and really bumps up your healing abilities, and it works well with your Modification Upgrades. Field Mechanic is a must take in my opinion just because the Modification Upgrades are so incredibly useful, and really lets you tailor your crew to the Schemes and Strategy even further. Remote Mines is useful against Resurrectionists or crews with Lures, but the Detonate action's short range can make it hard to use and competes for the use of Scrap markers, which you need for healing and some of your Modification Upgrades. On Site Assimilation is a situational choice in my book: making Hoffman Fast is awesome, but it requires you to make one of your other models Slow, and the O.S.A. attack action can be difficult to use effectively if you don't plan it out properly. 

Picking the Right Tool for the Job

Hoffman is a good master for Turf War, Stake a Claim, Squatter's Rights, and Reckoning; but the crews he will run with for each are very different. A general skeleton for a Hoffman crew is Hoffman with Field Mechanic & Arcanist Assets, 1 or 2 beatsticks/tanks, 1 or 2 scheme runners, and add support pieces to taste. For Turf War and Reckoning your crew should focus more on tanks/beatsticks with a pair of scheme runners for marker based schemes. When running a crew based mostly around tanks/beatsticks for Turf War/Reckoning you'll be looking for schemes like Murder Protege, Make them Suffer, Take a Prisoner, Assassinate, & Frame for Murder. If you include a pair of scheme runners you'll want to take schemes like Breakthrough, Protect Territory, Plant Evidence/Explosives, Power Ritual, & A Line in the Sand. If you flip Stake a Claim or Squatter's Rights you'll generally want to focus more on scheme runners and support pieces, with a smaller number of tanks/beatsticks. In Squatter's Rights/Stake a Claim you'll want to focus more on marker based schemes over killing schemes, because usually these Strategies focus more on interacts than killing other models. Every game is different, so every crew should be built according to the strategy & scheme pool. There are times when you'll want to bring more tanks/beatsticks to Squatter's Rights/Stake a Claim, and vice versa. 

Where to Put Hoffman

There are two basic ways to run Hoffman: in the Hoff-ball or in Marker Domination. The Hoff-ball focuses on having Hoffman stay closer to the tanks/beatsticks, passing out heals/Power Loops/Machine Puppets as necessary. The Hoff-ball generally works well in Turf War/Reckoning & killing heavy scheme pools, and generally consists of 1 or 2 tanks/beatsticks that are Power Looped together (like a Peacekeeper & Howard Langston for example) to make an unkillable ball of death that ties up and murders your opponent's crew while the scheme runners do their thing. The Hoff-ball is very powerful because it shares around stats to make models better & takes a ton of work to dismantle and kill, but it is not infallible. The Hoff-ball's main weakness is the fact that it has to run very close together, which makes it succeptible to Blasts and loses a lot of it's potency once it starts to lose models, especially if Hoffman goes down. It can also be weak versus crews with Lures or abilities that move your models around, as it relies on proximity to function to it's maximum potential. Marker Domination works best for Stake a Claim/Squatters Rights & marker heavy schem pools because in this case Hoffman will run with the scheme runners. By having Hoffman hitch a ride off of a Watcher you can use his AP to move your scheme runners into position and drop markers outside their activations, so they can continue to do so with their own AP. Running Hoffman this way makes him incredibly mobile, and makes Entourage on Hoffman surprisingly easy to score. You''ll still want to bring a tank/beatstick or two with you when running Hoffman with your scheme runners to help defend against enemy scheme runners, otherwise you won't be able to deny your opponent VP from their schemes. Marker Domination takes a lot of thought to pull off, be very careful to keep away from the enemy crew because once your scheme runners start to go down it'll become very hard to drop all the markers you need to max out your VP. Be prepared to sacrifice models to keep other models alive if it'll help you score your VP, and make sure you always have a model for Hoffman to hitch a ride off of. 

Ther really isn't a lot that can't be done with a properly set up Hoffman crew, but be careful about how you manage your resources. You'll be using your soulstones for damage prevention on Hoffman, extra cards, and suits on Hoffman or your Henchman. Make sure you go into each game with a plan as to how you're going to accomplish your schemes and the strategy, and what models are going to do what. Like with most crews once you start losing models it becomes harder to get things done, so make sure you prioritize your heals accordingly. Hoffman acts as the keystone in all of his crews, so do what you can to keep him alive throughout the game unless him dieing will help you score your VP. I talked mostly about running Hoffman with Constructs, as that's what I mostly tend to run with him, but most Guild models can work well with him as well. Take some time to figure out what works best for you according to your personal tastes; see if you prefer to go all Construct or mix in some living models, and get some practice with both the Hoff-ball and Marker Domination. With a little practice and some thought you'll be amazed at what you can accomplish. Hopefully this helps a few people out and isn't too boring of a read, thanks for checking it out!

Our Henchman

As a faction, we have awesome Henchman. They can do a variety of things and can boost our crews tremendously in a number of different ways. As with most things in the Guild they can be rather expensive, so if you're ready to commit 9-12 SS into a single model make sure you choose one carefully. Some Henchmen are better at certain things than others, which we're going to break down below.

The Judge

The Judge is our Swiss Army Knife, there's not much he can't do. He does pretty decent damage both at range and in melee, can tank hits well, and offers a variety of board control options. His (0) action Stand for Judgement allows him to push any model up to 5 inches directly towards him and the (1) action Bound By Law can prevent enemy models from Walking or Charging unless they discard a card first. Out of all the Guild Henchman the Judge has the most options when it comes to influencing the position and movement of enemy models, which is something we don't have a lot of in our faction. The Judge can also be handy against marker-dependent summoning crews like Ramos & Nicodem because of his Final Repose ability. With both Hard to Wound & Hard to Kill and 10 wounds he's very survivable, and becomes even more so if you give him the Lead Lined Coat upgrade. The Judge's Unrelenting Leader is one of the best personal upgrades of all the Henchman, as it makes him Stubborn and gives him the (1) action Combat Effectiveness. A Stubborn Judge is a great asset against crews like Pandora, Dreamer, or Seamus that have a lot of Wp based attacks. Combat Effectiveness allows him to make a friendly non-leader model take a (1) Ap Melee action outside of their activation, which is brilliant for finishing off models you've just barely missed killing or have Hard to Kill. Getting extra attacks with any model that's engaged in melee is excellent, and the Tome trigger allows you to take Combat Effectiveness again. If you spend both Ap on it and hit the triggers you can make another model potentially 4 times, or make 4 models attack once each. It's important to note that these Ml actions can declare triggers, and as long as The Judge isn't your crew leader he can use this action on himself (which can potentially allow him to attack 8 times in 1 activation, but is rediculously difficult to make happen). The Judge will do well in every Strategy, but really shines in Reckoning, Turf War, and Reconnoitre.

Sam Hopkins

Sam Hopkins is the very definition of a glass cannon. He can put out a ton of damage, but is relatively fragile. Even though he's Unimpeded Sam is very slow (he's only Walk 4) & has no defensive abilities like Armour or Hard to Wound, so if you're not careful his 8 wounds will disappear quickly. Stick to cover as much as possible and let his gun do all the work for him. Sam does an insane amount of damage at range & in melee, especially if he's attacking a model with Burning. His (1) action Flaming Bullets can put enemy models within an 8 inch pulse at negative flips to defense duels til the end of the turn if they fail a TN 15 Wp duel, which is his only action that influences enemy models in a way that doesn't damage them. Sam's biggest strength is ranged damage, if all of his Rapid Fire shots connect he'll do between 9-12 damage on negative flips (depending on whether or not his target has Burning). He'll do similar amounts of damage in melee, but if he doesn't kill his target he'll die pretty quickly. Sam runs best with Sonnia, but can be tricky to use with other Masters. His personal upgrade Witch Hunt can hand out Burning very well, but can be tricky to pull off. Running him with Lead Lined Coat can increase his survivability, but my personal favourite upgrade for him is Vengeance Bullet. This makes him a serious threat against most Masters and Henchmen, and keeps him relatively cheap. Sam is too slow to be of a lot of use in Squatter's Rights/Stake a Claim, and is too fragile to be in the center for Turf War. He does best in Reckoning and Reconnoitre, and will do well as long as you keep him safe in cover.

Francisco Ortega

Francisco is probably the most popular Guild Henchman. He's a great all-rounder, and his El Mayor ability can help keep key models in your crew alive. Francisco does decent damage at range, but is happiest when locked in Melee. He has a high Ml of 7 with a 2 inch range, and has a good damage spread with built in Critical Strike. His (0) action Finesse allows him to discard a card to make enemy models targeting him with Ml attacks suffer a negative flip to attack, and Flurry lets him really pile the hurt onto a single model. The (1) action Enfrentate a Mi allows Francisco to place himself into base contact with an enemy model within 7 inches and push all other friendly models engaged with the target up to 5 inches away from it. This doesn't require line of sight, and is useful for keeping the rest of your crew safe from Melee Monsters like Nekima and Killjoy. Francisco with Finesse up and Defensive Stance will tank just about anything, and he can usually Flurry to take it out next turn. His personal uprade Wade In is pretty much an auto-take, as it makes him Hard to Kill and gives him a self heal for a (0) action. Diestro can be useful with Perdita because it she doesn't have to flip a card for Francisco when Randomizing into Melee and puts whatever model he's engaged with at a negative flip on defense duels against Sh actions. This combination of Francisco tanking and Perdita shooting will take out just about any model in the game. Another useful upgrade for him is Hermanos De Armas, as it can add extra mobility to your crew throughout the game. Francisco works well with every Master, and can do well in every Strategy. He excels at Reckoning and Turf War, but is useful in Reconnoitre, Squatter's rights, and Stake a Claim as well.

Sebastian

Sebastian gets an honourary mention because he can only be taken with Guild McMourning, and is harder to use in the Guild than he is as a Resser. Sebastian works well in a crew that includes models that hand out Poison like Guild Lawyers, and is mostly useful defensively because of his (1) action Under Cover. Under Cover makes projectile attacks targeting a friendly model within an 8 inch aura suffer a negative flip, which is very useful against range based crews like the Freikorps and Rasputina. Most of his abilities revolve around Poison, but for his cost he's decently survivable thanks to 9 wounds and Hard to Wound. If you can build up Poison on an enemy model his Induction & Catalyst abilities and Bloody Harvest action can be very useful, but not many models in the Guild can hand it out. As a Guild Henchman Sebastian is most useful as a defensive model and works well in Reconnoitre, but can struggle with other Strategies and is rather limited as he can only be brought with a Guild McMourning crew.

Ryle

Ryle is my personal favourite Henchmen. He works well with every Master, does good damage at range and in Melee, and can be surprisingly mobile. With 10 wounds, Armour +1, and the defensive trigger Grinding Halt Ryle can be very difficult to kill, which makes him an excellent tank. He can use his (0) action Field Repairs to heal a friendly Construct within 3 inches at the cost of a card from your hand, and he can use it to self-heal should he need to. Ryle has a low Walk of 4 and Charge of 6, but this is offset by his other (0) action, Socially Repressed. Socially Repressed allows Ryle to push up to 4 inches away from a target model within 12 inches (which can be either friendly or enemy), so it basically gives him a free walk that isn't slowed by terrain. His Modified Steam Gatling gun is perfect for targeting enemy models in both Soft & Hard Cover because it has a built in plus flip to attack & a built in trigger for a plus flip to damage; and the double Ram trigger Raking Fire creates good board control while punishing crews that bunch up. Raking Fire allows Ryle to shoot multiple targets so long as they haven't already been targeted by his Modified Steam Gatling, and can be triggered more than once (a good way to do this is with Targeting Systems from Hoffman). His Melee damage is insane, potentially reaching a 6/8/10 damage spread thanks to Critical Strike (1 from cards, 1 from Soul Stones, and 1 more from Hoffman's Targeting Systems). Ryle is well suited to taking out high value targets like Killjoy, The Sow, or Hungering Darkness because of his high damage profile and his Breach Psychosis ability, which makes him immune to Horror Duels. Ryle runs best with Hoffman, but is a solid inclusion in any Guild Crew. His personal upgrade Pieces of Myself is difficult to use, but Ryle works well with Vengeance Bullet and most of the General Guild Upgrades. Ryle excels in Turf War and Reckoning, but his mobility makes him useful in Squatter's Rights, Stake a Claim, and Reconnoitre as well.

Captain Dashel

Dashel is primarily a support Henchmen. He's decently survivable with 9 wounds, Armour +1, & Hard to Kill; and does modest damage. His Collier Army does decent damage at range, and his Baton can do decent damage in Melee & hand out Slow, but is short-ranged. Dashel's real use comes from his "Ready! Aim!" and "Fire!" abilities; which respectively allow friendly non-Austringer Guardsmen models to Focus as a (0) action, and grant a plus flip to the attack flip of projectile actions targeting an enemy model within 12 inches and Line of Sight. Dashel is most commonly used alongside 2-3 Guild Riflemen to create a ranged ball of death, but his afformentioned abilities can benefit Guild Hounds, Guild Guard, Guild Pathfinders, Guild Sergeants, and Wardens as well. This can be used to create a "death by a thousand cuts" approach to damage that most opponents won't see coming, allowing a number of your cheaper Minions to take down multiple enemy models or a high cost enemy Enforcer/Henchman. He can also use his (1) action On Yer Feet can give a friendly Minion Reactivate, but you have to sacrifice said Minion at the end of the turn. Dashel runs best in a Lucius crew, but is very useful in a Guild McCabe crew that has Luna and Guild Hounds because he can Reactivate the Hounds. Dashel is very useful for Reconnoitre, Squatter's Rights, and Stake a Claim; but struggles in Reckoning. 

Sidir Alchibal

Sidir is my second favourite Henchmen, and one of our best tanks. His Ruthless ability makes him useful against Wp based crews, and Laugh Off means he'll only ever be where you want him to be. Sidir does decent damage in melee and at range, but is best used at range. He has a high Sh of 7, and the Stutter Fire trigger allows him to target multiple enemy models. He can also use the (1) action Empty the Magazine to deal damage and grant Slow to a target enemy model & other models within a 2 inch aura if they fail a TN 12 Walk duel. Sidir is extremely survivable thanks to his 10 wounds, Riposte defensive trigger, and (0) action Always There, which grants him a reliable self-heal. This is only increased in a McCabe crew, where the Elixer of Life can allow him to heal up to 4 wounds without using any AP. His biggest asset comes in his Promises and By Your Side upgrades, the first of which give friendly models within a 6 inch aura that have at least one upgrade attatched plus flips to Wp and Ml duels. Sidir with Promises can be a bulwark against Pandora and Dreamer crews, and also synergises very well with Hoffman's Modification Upgrades. By Your Side allows Sidir to once per turn be placed into base contact with a friendly model within 5 inches when they're targeted by an enemy model's action, and become the target of said action instead. Most commonly this is used to prevent your opponent from damaging your Master or other key model, but is most effectively used to deny your opponent Deliver a Message. By Your Side specifies that it can be used when a friendly model is targeted by an enemy model's action, which is exactly what Deliver a Message is. Sidir can be used with any Master, but is most effective with McCabe and Hoffman. He excels at Turf War and can be useful in Reconnoitre; but lacks the damage output for Reckoning and is too slow for Squatter's Rights & Stake a Claim. 

I rarely leave home without Ryle or Sidir, every once in a while I'll use Francisco or The Judge, but I very rarely use Sebastian or Sam Hopkins. Lucius is the only Master I don't own so at the moment so I don't really get to use Dashel, but I can easily see him making his way into several of my crews once I do. Which Henchmen you bring depends on what Strategy you're playing and what Schemes you have to choose from, but as long as you choose wisely you'll rarely be disappointed in their performance.